Improvement in seed-separators



a v 2 She ets-Sheet 1. l H. KURTH. See'd-Separato'rs.

Ptented Oct. 6,184.

wmuisses;A QJLOLMQ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` @HERMANN KURTH, vor MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin.

IMPROVEMENT `INl SEED-sEPARA-Tons.

Specification forming part ofLetters `PatentN0.`155,736, dated October 6, 1874; application tiled To all whom it may concern: f

Be it known 'that LHERMANN KURTH, of

the city and'county of Milwaukee and Statel of Wisconsin, have invented a new'and Improved Machine for Cleaning and Separating Grain from Cookie and other impurities; and

I do hereby declare that the following is a full, S

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawview; Fig. 4., detail, showing construction of the friction-wheels; Fig. 5, detail, showing the lat bottom of the cavities in the cylinder; Fig. 6, detail, showing relative arrangement of the brush, slide, chute, and cylinder.

tained within the same.

A wooden frame-work has journaled upon Ait a metallic shaft, which carries at each end a set ofV double-acting adjustable frictionwheels. Said wheels consist of a hub, having at each end a iiange, a detachable disk, fastened to the hub by screws, and an intermediate ring of rubber, forming upon each end of` the hub a grooved friction-wheel, whose groove can vbe adjusted to different sizes. In the grooves of the.said wheels, upon `each end of the shaft, rest two inwardly-projecting rims of j a tapering metallic cylinder, which latter is indented upon its inside with flat-bottomed cavities. Around the outer periphery of said cylinder vthere is a iiat band, upon which 5guide-rollers attached to the frame run, and

keep the cylinder steady. At one end of the yfselaeinter 25,1874.

f guides upon the opposite portions of the frame.

To said'slide is attached a brush, whose bristles engage with the inner periphery of the cylinder, "and brush the impurities from the cavities. At the smaller end of the cylinder is the grain-receiver, which consists of a tray or receptacle having al bottom perforated with small holes to allow the sand and fine particles of foreign matter to fall out, the said bottom being extended in the form of a chute into the cylinder, and perforated therein with holes, which allow the small grain Vand impurities to pass through into the cylinder. The said tray is provided with sieves constructed, preferably, of sheet metal, and of different-sized perforations, the largest at the top. Above the grain-chute, and attached to the grain-receiver, is a second chute, into which fall the The object of my invention is .to provide anl improved machine for separating from grainV the cockle, garlic, and other impurities con-1 large grains of cockie, garlic, and other impurities, which are precipitated into the same from over the sieves. with its ltwo chutes, is supported at one end upon vertical flat springs attached to the frame and at the opposite, end upon horizontal at springs attached to the opposite end of the frame. To the lower part of the grain-tray are attached adjustable brackets or lyokes, and in said brackets revolve cams attached to a shaft that connects with one of the other parallel shafts through a band Y and pulley, by means of which a vibratory motion is imparted to the grain-receiver and the chutes and the grain-agitator thereon. Inside the cylinder, and inclined'to the top chute, are two slides, upon which the impurities drop, and are conveyed away inthe said chute. Saidy slides are pivoted at one-end upon adjustable supports, and attached `at the other to radially-inovable arms pivoted to the frame, and provided with ratchet-teeth and pawls, ,by means of which the said slides are adjusted in their proximity to the cylinder, and their inclination to the said chute.

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the aforementioned devices as combined and presented in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents the framework of the machine., B is a shaft journaled in bearings upon the frame, and carrying at each end a set of double-acting adjustable Said grain receiver,V

, shaft, N.

` to revolve by a double-acting frictional contact, the sides of the grooves clasping the edges b of the rings H, and holding them tightly while the weight of said cylinder forces vthe rings downy into the grooves, after -the manner of wedges. The said cylinder being tapering, one set of these frictionwheels is larger than the other, so as to keep the cylin der on a horizontal axis. Upon the inside of this cylinder I are flat bottom cavities c, Figs. l, 2, and '5, which' serve to catch the globular impurities and carry them out of the range of the elongated grains, which latter lose their equilibrium and fall out of" the cavities as the cylinder revolves, and pass down the incline through the holes F'. J is a flat band around the cylinder, which moves over the adjustable guide-rollers K, and keeps the cylinder steady. L is a shaft journaled in bearings upon the frame at right angles to shaft B, and connecting therewith through a bevel-gear. Said shaft L carries an actuating-crank and pulley at one end, and a pulley at the other, communicating, through a band, M, with a third Said shaft carries an eccentric barrel or cam, O, which rests in the forked end of a vertical vibrating bar, P, and the top of said bar is attached, through an adjustable connection, to a horizontally-sliding brush, Q, whose bristles engage with the inner periphery of the cylinder, and remove the particles of impurities from the cavities. Said brush Q rests in slides It, which may be adjusted to place the brush tight against the cylinder' or away from the same. S is the grain-receiver, which consists of a tray with a finely-perforated bottom, d, which is extended in the form of a chute, T, into the cylinder, and is perforated at e with holes, which allow the smaller grain and impurities to pass through into the cylinder bottom, the larger grains passing on and being delivered. through the holes U. The said grain-receiver S contains sieves s, of different-sized perforations, the largest at the top, and are preferably made of perforated sheet metal, because the smooth surface of the same allows the globular-shaped cockle, garlic, &c., to fall over the inclinedv sieve, while the elongated grains pass through..

On a level with the bottom sieve f is a second chute, V, just above T, into which the cockle, garlic, &c., are precipitated from the sieves, and carried through the cylinder. The said grain-receiver S and chutes V T are supported at one end upon the vertical flatsprings W,

1 the said receiver and chutes avibratory motion,

by means of which the 'grain is agitated. Inside the cylinder, and inclined toward the chute V, are the two slides A', which, as the brush removes the impurities from the cavities, receive the same and conduct them into said chute. Said slides are pivoted in adjustable supports B' at 011e end, and attached to arms C' at the other, which are pivoted to the frame A, and, by means of ratchet-teeth and a pawl, D', control the positions of thefslides.

` The operation of this machine is as follows: The grain is delivered from above to the receiver, which',being agitated, causes the globular-shaped particles of cockie, garlic, and other impurities to be precipitated over the inclined perforated sieves into the chute V, and carv ried away. The elongated grains pass readily through the graduated sieves until they reach the finely-perforated bottom, when the line particles of sand, &c., fall through, the grains passing down chute T. As soon as they reach the portion e the smaller grain and impurities of the same size pass through into the bottom of the tapering revolving cylinder, and the large grains pass down and are delivered through the holes Uin the cylinder.V Now, as the cylinder revolves the smaller grains and impurities are caught in the flat bottom cavities in the cylinder, and as the grains are elongated, and the impurities for the most part globular and smaller, the grains fall out and pass down the incline of the tapering barrel, and out through the holes F'. The impurities, being retained in the little pockets or cavities, pass up the side of the cylinder as it revolves, and, when the said cavities are inverted, are are emptied upon the slides and conducted away in the chute V along with the rst elimi nated impurities.

The flat bottom construction of the cavities, as shown in Fig. 5, is intended to retain longer the ne particles of dirt, &c., which are afterward sweptdo'wn into chute V by the brush Q. The adjustment of the slides A' and the brush Q enable the operator to adapt his machinel to the size of the grain, and clean the same more thoroughly of its impurities.

I knowthat it is not new to construct a re-v volving cylinder rotated in a suspended position upon friction-wheels, by which it is also actuated. I therefore disclaim the broad idea, and conne myselfl to my peculiar devices, which possess the following particular advantages: A suspended cyliuder having no cen'- tral axis will not be held steady upon a flatfaced friction-wheel. My device is intended to clutch it on both sides, and hold it as stifdy as though rotated upon a central shaft.

Moreovenby loosening the screw G and wid` ening the grooves, the edges b of the rims H enterthe grooves farther, andV give a greater amount of frictional contact, and vice versa, thus securing a variable amount of friction. Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new is l. The hub D,.Witl1 langes c, the disks E, intermediate rings of rubber F, and screws G, all combined and arranged `for the purpose of forming frictionwheels with tapering adjustable groove, substantially as and for the purpose described. ,y

2. The combination of the tapering cylinder I, having tapering rings H and band J, with the friction-Wheels C and guide rollers K, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with the cylinder I, of

the reciprocatingbrush Q, the vertical vibrating bar l?, having a forked end, and the eccentric barrel O, substantially as and for the purl. p ose described.

4:. The combinatiomwith the cylinder I and chute T, of the inclined slides A', the radially- `moving arms C', and thc paivls D', substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. Thev combination, with the revolving tapering cylinder I, of the reciprocating brush vQ, the slides A', and the agitated chutesV and i 

